Pages

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Food Storage Salads: Tabouli Salad

(sorry no photo, I swear I have taken a ton of photos of this salad but I can't find them on my camera)Tabouli is traditionally made with Bulgur wheat. Bulgur is made by soaking cooked whole wheat kernels (berries) which are then dried and part of the bran is removed. The remaining pieces are cracked into small pieces. Bulgur can be cooked and served as a grain or used in breads, soups, and even desserts. I usually have a small amount of Bulgur on hand because I like it. I don't store it in my long term storage because I have not found anywhere that sells it packaged for long term storage. I have found that you can substitute cracked wheat, brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, barley, or couscous. I like to substitute 9 grain cracked cereal in place of the Bulgur wheat. It gives the salad a similar taste, texture and appearance. If I have it I like to add in a little feta cheese. If you prefer you can use your own bottled Italian salad dressing.

Today's salad, tabouli, has tomatoes and cucumbers in it. But both are in small amounts and are grown in most people’s gardens. I have made this salad substituting canned petite diced tomatoes and it is a okay substitute not as good as fresh but okay in a pinch. If you are going to use canned tomatoes, use high quality tomatoes, which have been rinsed and very well drained prior to adding them to the salad. Recently parsley has been tasting bitter to me (I know I am crazy but what can you do?) Consequently I have been using very little when I make this salad.